Needless to say this morning before my first day at Moulsford Boys Prep and Boarding School I was extremely nervous and could not wait to just get there and started. I’m extremely lucky and grateful to be living with family only 25 minutes away from the school itself and I have my car to travel in every morning so except for those first few nerves, getting to the school was a breeze!

Not an actual picture from the school grounds, but this gives a good idea to how magnificent the school’s surroundings are

I found the office and the first few hours of my day were spent meeting and greeting people, inductions and being shown around the school. The overwhelming feeling of welcomeness was incredible. The staff, the parents and the boys themselves were so friendly, kind and showing me where to go. When being shown around the school I was struck by the beauty of the surrounding area, especially as the school backs onto the River Thames and the boys can try their hand at canoeing, kayaking and more. Sports are a major part to life at Moulsford with opportunities to play rugby, cricket, football, tennis and many more with fixtures for teams being frequently held. Overall, I am extremely impressed by the opportunities the boys are given and as my placement goes on, will write some more about this side of Moulsford.

My day was not completely filled with meeting people and learning the geography but I observed pre-prep (or nursery as I would usually call it), Maths and English lessons. The children are all extremely polite and there were no cases of bad behaviour throughout the day, which struck me as quite different from any schools I have ever worked in before. Although I thoroughly enjoyed each lesson and have learned some new games I was slightly taken aback by how advanced some of the children’s English and Maths work is compared to students their age in Scotland through the Curriculum for Excellence. I will be learning more about the specific curriculum that Mouslford runs with and am attending at a good time as they are about to change their curriculum in September, so will be able to write more critically about the differences in the two curriculums.

Another first for me was the fact that I tried my hand at family service lunches where an adult stands at the top of the table and serves the boys their dinner and then proceeds to eat their dinner with them. This was a great opportunity for me to talk to the boys and find out what life at Moulsford is like for them as students. The overall resounding answer with many nodding heads and loud yes’s when I asked “do you like school then?” was astounding. When I asked why answers cropped up like “my friends all go here”, “the sports are really good” and “everyone is really nice and its near my house”. Clearly, the school means a lot to the boys as well as their families and I am looking forward to finding more about the boy’s opinion of the school, private education and boarding life as the next 6 weeks fly past.

I’m looking forward to writing up all about my experience with Forest School tomorrow!

Tomorrow, I am observing science, pre-prep, English, Maths and most excitingly FOREST SCHOOL! I have always wanted to see forest school in action and am so prepared I have even gone to Sainsbury’s and bought some funky wellies to keep my feet dry. Science is very exciting too although not my strong point if I am being honest, but there is always room for improvement and the teacher was extremely enthusiastic about me joining the class for the day. However, now I think I have earned an extremely long lie down and some chill time watching the footie – come on CHELSEA.!